Pages

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Too busy dealing with work deadlines, rat infestations, and lacrosse schedules to write a proper post. So, for your amusement, a backlog of photographs having to do with faces spotted in various places (which does not actually mean I am writing about freckles).

Five of them exhibit the brain's tendency to "see" faces in things that aren't faces (or, as scientific papers dub it, "perceptual face/non-face classification"). It's the hardwired recognition system that causes people to see Jesus's face in a pirogi and the Virgin Mary's in a grilled-cheese sandwich (though there is still no explanation for why these faces could not be, say, those of John Travolta or the checkout clerk at the Ballard Fred Meyer, or for that matter, why anybody would choose to communicate with humans by mysteriously appearing on food items).

You know what I mean--if you're an American kid, you probably grew up looking at one of these non-faces at the breakfast table every morning: the face on the milk carton. Not that of the poor missing child, but the one that shows up in the visual instructions for how to open the milk carton:

"I'm SO happy to see you. Hope you like your Cheerios!"

You can find them on park benches (such as on the ones in front of the Bellevue Library)...

"Oh noooooo! Let's bolt before we get sat upon!"

and in your office...

"We're just so gosh-darn glad you like your new printer cartridges!"

and in your kitchen on things other than food...

"Can I make you some more coffee now? Huh? Huh? Please?"

and standing around sternly in your local park...

"Don't mess with me. I see you. These are shades, not blinders."

The last one is not in the same category as it really does depict faces. We spotted these two among the underground shops of the Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Er, Justin...? I think you might be being stalked.

Ha. I just noticed that Justin Bieber really does have a clip on his shoulder.

Piccalilli Pie's a little of this, a little of that...

but mostly about animals, children's books, writing, cooking, baking, coffee and the need for, needle felting, random stuff I like, and words that would catch a magpie's eye if magpies could read. Which maybe they can and they're just keeping it a big secret.